When You Return
by The Fairie Queen
Summary: Waking up to someone you haven't seen in almost a month is nice. Waking up to see their smile is even nicer. Exorcist AU, and follow up to "Before You Go."


**A/N:** Response to the prompt "Have I entered an alternate universe, or did you really just crack a smile for me?" This is also a follow up to my ficlet "Before You Go." It isn't necessary to read, but it does have some background for this. ;)

Enjoy! 

**_When You Return_**

Alma couldn't sleep that night. Not that such a thing was abnormal, as Alma often had trouble sleeping. It wasn't that he had nightmares exactly – just restless thoughts with vignettes of images he normally couldn't remember. Occasionally, Alma would be able to remember tiny bits of things. A landscape of wilted flowers, some man in an exorcist uniform – but nothing more. There was only a foggy swirl of color and shapes that Alma couldn't quite recall.

Alma glanced at the clock hanging on his wall. It was actually close to 4:00AM, so only a few hours till sunrise. He scrunched his nose in annoyance; Alma probably _should_ have tried to go back to sleep. He would need to get up in a few hours, and if he were lucky perhaps today would be the day that Kanda would come back.

It was almost a month ago that Kanda had left. He had been given and assignment with Lavi that had sent them off to Bulgaria. Originally, Alma had hoped that the mission wouldn't have taken that long, but as the days turned into week Alma found himself aching to have Kanda back. He hated being away from Kanda.

Closing his eyes, Alma tried not to think about the deep yearning he felt inside. It wasn't easy to ignore though – on nights like this where Alma couldn't sleep, he'd always go to Kanda's room and crawl into bed with him. Or sometimes Kanda would come to his room. They sometimes switched it up, but the fact stood that they were _always_ trying to stay together.

Alma exhaled. Maybe if he was lucky Kanda would come back soon. 

* * *

Alma had been dead asleep when he felt someone nudge him. It had been a light nudge at first, but then another followed – this one firmer and a little aggressive.

Still trying to fight consciousness, Alma groaned in his sleep. "Mmfph…go awayyyy…." He mumbled sleepily as he tried to pull the covers over his head. God, who the hell was trying to wake him up?

The person didn't quit though. They gave Alma's shoulder another shake, before Alma could feel them pulling the covers off his head. He felt the cold air of the room immediately, which helped to wake him up a little more. Which then led Alma to realizing that there was an actual, physical _person_ in his room.

"Wake up, you fucking sleepy head."

Alma's eyes opened. He recognized that voice.

Turning, Alma looked to see Kanda sitting on his bed beside him. He was looking at Alma with a small smirk on his face – wait, was that a _smile_?

Alma stared at Kanda with a slightly dazed and bewildered expression. "Have I entered an alternate universe, or did you really just crack a smile for me?" Alma asked, his voice laced with grogginess. God, if this was a dream then Alma did _not_ want to wake up.

Kanda bit the inside of his cheek, and looked like he was trying not to snicker. "You're actually kind of cute when you're deliriously tired. And not being obnoxiously clingy," Kanda said, before pushing Alma again. "Seriously though – wake the fuck up already. You have drool running down the side of your mouth."

Okay. Definitely _not_ a dream.

Alma rolled over so that he could use his elbows to push him up. He tried to ignore the damp spot on his pillow that signified he _had_ been drooling, and wiped the side of his face. "Wait," He started, trying to allow his mind to process the fact that Kanda was _actually back_. "When did you get here? And smile again, because that was really nice and you don't do that enough."

Kanda rolled his eyes. "I just got back a little while ago. Most people are still asleep, and the rabbit just went to his room to crash I guess."

Kanda paused when he felt Alma's hand take his, and his eyes moved down to Alma's. Alma's eyes were still rimmed with sleep, but appeared bright nevertheless. There was a small smile on his lips.

"So did you come to crash with me for a little bit?" Alma asked as he tugged Kanda's hand gently. "Your stupid assignment almost made it to where I was sleeping alone for close to a month you know. It wasn't fun."

Kanda's expression seemed to harden at this, and his eyes looked cool. He averted his gaze slightly. "I know. I didn't like it either."

Alma blinked, noticing the change in Kanda's disposition. He immediately felt a pang of guilt in his chest, as though his words had caused the change.

Alma ran his thumb over the top of Kanda's hand, and looked at him. "Hey," He spoke gently, before pulling Kanda with a little extra force this time. Alma did so swiftly, catching Kanda off guard despite not using a large amount of strength. Within a second, Kanda was lying beside him so that they were facing each other.

Eyes soft, Alma ran his hand through Kanda's bangs, and traced his fingers down the side of Kanda's face. "You're here now," Alma said, words as light as gossamer. "I'm glad you're back."

Kanda's expression warmed, and a hint of a smile appeared on his face yet again.

Alma's face lit up, and he nuzzled the crook of Kanda's neck. "I like this alternate universe where you smile. It's so much nicer when you do that."

"Tch. You act like you've never seen me smile ever."

"You don't smile in public."

"Why the hell would I? I'm sure as hell not going to smile around the fucking beansprout or anything. He pisses me off."

"Ouch. Yuu, you're so mean sometimes," Alma chided, though his words were followed by a hint of laughter. He then brought his face close to Kanda's where their noses were just barely touching, and he could feel his fingers intertwine with Kanda's. "Whatever. As long as I can see it I guess that's ok."

This time, Kanda gave a half-smile. It was close enough. 

* * *

**A/N:** Cute? Cute. God, I love putting these two in an exorcist AU. XD

Thanks for reading!


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